topic Re: Switching from BT in Plusnet Feedback

Switching from BT

reefseeker — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:34:18 GMT

Hello!
I'm thinking of switching broadband from BT to Plusnet, indeed I've started the process but not completed the Mac code part. I called BT this morning to get this code and a very chatty young Geordy lad told me I was making a big mistake! After giving me a small improvement on my existing charges, and also giving my unlimited rather than capped BB useage, he went on to inform me that I would probably see a deterioration in speeds "during peak periods". He muttered something about traffic management by Plusnet and how they would throttle back my speeds if I turned out to be a large user (I'm not particularly, by the way, the usual iPlayer and YouTube stuff, as well as the typical general browsing).
Do these comments make sense to anyone here, or is this just unsavoury scare tactics?
Has anyone experienced a noticeable decrease in performance after switching from BT to Plusnet (I'm copper, not fibre, currently only getting 2MB from BT and expecting similar from Plusnet; I'm moving for cost and customer service reasons rather than seeking a speed increase).
Any feedback would be appreciated, and apologies in advance if this subject has already been done to death on this forum (I did a quick search but couldn't find anything).
Cheers

Re: Switching from BT

KK — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:37:17 GMT

reefseeker - I switched my broadband from BT to Plusnet last summer because, like you, I was fed up with the complications of trying to deal with BT's customer 'service'. I haggled a bit with Plusnet, and managed to get an introductory offer which was no longer generally available. I have had no problems at all with the broadband service (I have the 10GB 'Essentials' deal) - like you, I don't do any downloading or games, and I don't watch TV programmes or films.
I had planned to switch my BT landline over to Plusnet in February, which was when my Line Rental Saver deal with BT came to an end. But when I tried to call Plusnet, I found out that, for existing customers, there is regularly a 60 minute wait to get through to the call centre. I came onto this forum because I had a few questions about PlusNet's Line Rental Saver deal, but I couldn't get a useful reply.
I switched my broadband using a MAC code, and I had expected the switch to be free of any penalty, but BT charged me £30. The prospect of wading through BT's customer 'services' yet again was so daunting that I didn't bother.
Phone and BroadBand providers compete on price, and care little for Customer Service. I have now switched my landline to the Post Office, and the changeover went smoothly. But I have not yet needed to contact PO's customer call centre. When I go out drinking with my son, and we need a taxi home, he calls several numbers, and we take the first one to arrive. I think it would be reasonable to treat phone/broadband providers in a similar fashion.

Re: Switching from BT

w23 — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:42:39 GMT

Quote from: reefseeker
or is this just unsavoury scare tactics?

Precisely that. There's no reason that you'd see any significant difference.

Quote from: KK
I switched my broadband using a MAC code, and I had expected the switch to be free of any penalty, but BT charged me £30.

If you switch using a MAC there should be no cease fee, there could be charges from BT but only if you are within a minimum contract period.

Re: Switching from BT

adamwalker — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 08:50:06 GMT

Hi reefseeker,
As you might guess it's in any business' interests to try and retain your custom, so with that in mind I'm sure you can see why they were trying to "keep" you.
I just wanted to mention too that we do indeed use traffic management but rather than it being something to "restrict" your service in someway it's there to ensure a quality of service and that one type of traffic (i.e downloading) does not impact on things like video streaming.

Re: Switching from BT

reefseeker — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 18:19:01 GMT

Thanks for the reassuring replies, it is appreciated. I've now submitted the Mac code and hope to be a happy new plusnet customer by the end of next week!
Cheers

Re: Switching from BT

vicky1959 — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:49:41 GMT

reefseeker we to switched from BT fed up with there billing dept getting it wrong ,hoping plusnet are not the same ,decided to use Plusnet on recommendations from few friends ,all i will say is once you submit the order if its stuck on checking line after 5 days give them a call,we to supplied mac code,but it automatically didnt go through and failed and PN didnt lets us know,it has now being done manually and so far has taken a month,but all in all i am waiting to see if it completes[BT now cut net using a dongle for now],will admit most things we do never go smoothly lol
As for traffic management well BT lied they do do traffic management,between 5pm - midnight mon-thurs then 5pm through friday til Sunday midnight,this is mainly on peer to peer sites ,youtube,tv streaming,gaming all untouched[well hope so my partner is a 52 yr old gaming nut !]